Met. 14.223Aeolon ille refert Tuscō regnāre profundō,
Aeolon Hippotadēn, cohibentem carcere ventōs;He tells how Aeolus reigns over the Tuscan deep, Aeolus son of Hippotes, who confines the winds in a prison; Met. 14.225quōs bovis inclūsōs tergō, memorābile mūnus,
Dūlichium sūmpsisse ducem flātūque secundō
lūcibus īsse novem et terram adspexisse petītam;how the Dulichian leader had received these winds, shut up in an ox-hide, a memorable gift, and with a favouring breeze had sailed for nine days and had sighted the land he sought; Met. 14.228proxima post nōnam cum sēsē aurōra movēret,
invidiā sociōs praedaeque cupīdine victōs,
230esse ratōs aurum, dēmpsisse ligāmina ventīs;how, when the dawn following the ninth was stirring, his comrades, overcome by envy and greed for plunder, thinking it was gold, had removed the bindings from the winds; Met. 14.231cum quibus īsse retrō, per quās modo vēnerat undās,
Aeoliīque ratem portūs repetīsse tyrannī.how with them he had gone back through the waves by which he had just come, and his ship had returned to the harbour of the Aeolian king.
Met. 14.233"Inde Lamī veterem Laestrygonis" inquit "in urbem
vēnimus.'From there,' he said, 'we came to the ancient city of Lamus the Laestrygonian. Met. 14.234Antiphatēs terrā regnābat in illā.Antiphates was reigning in that land. Met. 14.235Missus ad hunc ego sum, numerō comitante duōrum,
vixque fugā quaesīta salūs comitīque mihique:
tertius ē nōbīs Laestrygonis impia tinxit
ōra cruōre suō.I was sent to him, with two companions, and safety was barely won by flight for my companion and for me: the third of us stained the impious mouth of the Laestrygonian with his blood. Met. 14.238Fugientibus īnstat et agmen
concitat Antiphatēs.Antiphates presses on us as we flee, and rouses his host. Met. 14.239Coeunt et saxa trabēsque
240coniciunt merguntque virōs merguntque carīnās.They gather and hurl rocks and beams, and they sink men and sink ships. Met. 14.241Ūna tamen, quae nōs ipsumque vehēbat Ulixēn,
effūgit.Yet one ship, which carried us and Ulysses himself, escaped. Met. 14.242Āmissā sociōrum parte dolentēs
multaque conquestī terrīs adlābimur illīs,
quās procul hinc cernis (procul hinc, mihi crēde, videnda
245īnsula, vīsa mihi!), tūque ō iūstissime Trōum,
nāte dea (neque enim fīnītō Mārte vocandus
hostis es, Aenēa), moneō, fuge lītora Circēs.Grieving at the loss of part of our comrades and with many laments, we put in at those lands which you see far off from here (an island to be seen only far off from here, believe me, as I have seen it!); and you, most just of the Trojans, son of a goddess (for now that the war is over you must not be called an enemy, Aeneas), I warn you, flee the shores of Circe!
Met. 14.248Nōs quoque Circaeō religātā in lītore pīnū,
Antiphatae memorēs inmānsuētīque Cyclōpis,
250īre negābāmus vel tēcta ignōta subīre;We too, our ship moored on Circe's shore, remembering Antiphates and the savage Cyclops, refused to go on or to enter the unknown dwelling; Met. 14.251sorte sumus lēctī, sors mē fīdumque Polītēn
Eurylochumque simul nimiīque Elpēnora vīnī
bisque novem sociōs Circaea ad moenia mīsit.we were chosen by lot; the lot sent me and faithful Polites, and Eurylochus too, and Elpenor, too fond of wine, and twice nine comrades to Circe's walls. Met. 14.254Quae simul attigimus stetimusque in līmine tēctī,
255mīlle lupī mīxtaeque lupīs ursīque leaeque
occursū fēcēre metum, sed nūlla timenda
nūllaque erat nostrō factūra in corpore vulnus.As soon as we reached them and stood on the threshold of the house, a thousand wolves, and bears and lionesses mingled with the wolves, made us afraid as they ran to meet us; but none was to be feared, and none was going to make a wound on our bodies. Met. 14.258Quīn etiam blandās mōvēre per āera caudās
nostraque adūlantēs comitant vestīgia, dōnec
260excipiunt famulae perque ātria marmore tēcta
ad dominam dūcunt: pulchrō sedet illa recessū,
sollemnī soliō, pallamque indūta nitentem
īnsuper aurātō circumvēlātur amictū.Indeed they even waved their tails fawningly through the air and, fawning, accompanied our steps, until handmaids receive us and lead us through halls roofed with marble to their mistress: she sits in a lovely recess, on a ceremonial throne, and, dressed in a shining robe, she is wrapped over it in a golden mantle.
Met. 14.264Nērēidēs nymphaeque simul, quae vellera mōtīs
265nūlla trahunt digitīs nec fīla sequentia dūcunt:
grāmina dispōnunt sparsōsque sine ōrdine flōrēs
sēcernunt calathīs variāsque colōribus herbās;Nereids and nymphs are with her, who draw out no fleeces with moving fingers nor spin the following threads: they arrange grasses and sort into baskets flowers scattered without order, and herbs varied in colour; Met. 14.268ipsa quod hae faciunt opus, exigit, ipsa, Quis ūsus
quōve sit in foliō, quae sit concordia mīxtīs,
270nōvit et advertēns pēnsās exāminat herbās.she herself supervises the work they do; she herself knows what use each leaf has, and in which leaf it lies, what harmony there is in mixtures, and, attentive, examines the weighed herbs. Met. 14.271Haec ubi nōs vīdit, dictā acceptāque salūte,
diffūdit vultūs et reddidit ōmina vōce.When she saw us, greetings given and returned, her face brightened and she returned words of good omen. Met. 14.273Nec mora, miscērī tostī iubet hordea grānī
mellaque vimque merī cum lacte coagula passō,
275quīque sub hāc lateant fūrtim dulcēdine, sūcōs
adicit.Without delay, she orders barley of roasted grain to be mixed, and honey and strong wine and milk curdled with raisin wine, and adds juices to lie stealthily hidden beneath this sweetness.
Met. 14.276Accipimus sacra data pōcula dextrā.We take the cups given by her sacred right hand. Met. 14.277Quae simul ārentī sitientēs hausimus ōre,
et tetigit summōs virgā dea dīra capillōs,
(et pudet et referam!) saetīs horrēscere coepī
280nec iam posse loquī, prō verbīs ēdere raucum
murmur et in terram tōtō prōcumbere vultū;As soon as, thirsting, we drained them with parched mouths, and the dread goddess touched the tops of our hair with her wand, (I am ashamed, yet I will tell it!) I began to bristle with stiff hairs, and no longer to be able to speak, to utter a hoarse grunt instead of words, and to bend down towards the ground with my whole face; Met. 14.282ōsque meum sēnsī pandō occallēscere rōstrō,
colla tumēre torīs, et quā modo pōcula parte
sūmpta mihi fuerant, illa vestīgia fēcī,
285cumque eadem passīs (tantum medicāmina possunt!)
claudor harā, sōlumque suis caruisse figūrā
vīdimus Eurylochum: sōlus datā pōcula fūgit.and I felt my mouth harden into a crooked snout, my neck swell with muscles, and with the part with which I had just taken the cup, with that I made footprints; and with the others who had suffered the same (such power have drugs!) I am shut in a sty, and we saw that Eurylochus alone was without the shape of a pig: he alone shunned the cup offered.
Met. 14.288Quae nisi vītāsset, pecoris pars ūna manērem
nunc quoque saetigerī, nec tantae clādis ab illō
290certior ad Circēn ultor vēnisset Ulixēs.Had he not avoided it, I would still now remain one of the bristly herd, nor would Ulysses, informed by him of so great a disaster, have come to Circe as avenger. Met. 14.291Pācifer huic dederat flōrem Cyllēnius album,
mōly vocant superī, nigrā rādīce tenētur;The peace-bringing Cyllenian had given him a white flower; the gods call it moly; it is held fast by a black root; Met. 14.293tūtus eō monitīsque simul caelestibus intrat
ille domum Circēs, et ad īnsidiōsa vocātus
295pōcula, cōnantem virgā mulcēre capillōs
reppulit et strictō pavidam dēterruit ēnse.safe with this and with the heavenly warnings, he enters Circe's house, and, invited to the treacherous cups, he thrust her back as she tried to stroke his hair with her wand, and with drawn sword frightened her into terror. Met. 14.297Inde fidēs dextraeque datae, thalamōque receptus
coniugiī dōtem sociōrum corpora poscit.Then pledges were given and right hands, and, received into her bed, he demands as his marriage gift the bodies of his comrades.
Met. 14.299Spargimur ignōtae sūcīs meliōribus herbae
300percutimurque caput conversae verbere virgae,
verbaque dīcuntur dictīs contrāria verbīs.We are sprinkled with the better juices of an unknown herb, and struck on the head with a blow of her reversed wand, and words are spoken contrary to the words spoken before. Met. 14.302Quō magis illa canit, magis hōc tellūre levātī
ērigimur, saetaeque cadunt, bifidōsque relinquit
rīma pedēs, redeunt umerī et subiecta lacertīs
305bracchia sunt: flentem flentēs amplectimur ipsī
haerēmusque ducis collō nec verba locūtī
ūlla priōra sumus quam nōs testantia grātōs.The more she chants, the more we are raised from the ground and stand upright; the bristles fall, and the cleft leaves our cloven feet, our shoulders return, and forearms are fitted to our upper arms: weeping, we embrace him as he weeps, and cling to our leader's neck, and spoke no words before those that bore witness to our gratitude. Met. 14.308Annua nōs illīc tenuit mora, multaque praesēns
tempore tam longō vīdī, multa auribus hausī,
310hoc quoque cum multīs, quod clam mihi rettulit ūna
quattuor ē famulīs ad tālia sacra parātīs.A delay of a year held us there, and, being present for so long a time, I saw many things and took in many with my ears, and this too among many, which one of the four handmaids appointed for such rites secretly told me.
Met. 14.312Cum duce namque meō Circē dum sōla morātur,
illa mihi niveō factum dē marmore signum
ostendit iuvenāle, gerēns in vertice picum,
315aede sacrā positum multīsque īnsigne corōnīs.For while Circe was lingering alone with my leader, she showed me a statue of a young man made of snow-white marble, bearing a woodpecker on its head, set up in a sacred shrine and adorned with many garlands. Met. 14.316Quis foret et quārē sacrā colerētur in aede,
cūr hanc ferret avem, quaerentī et scīre volentī
"accipe" ait "Macareu, dominaeque potentia quae sit
hinc quoque disce meae: tū dictīs adice mentem!When I asked and wanted to know who he was, and why he was worshipped in a sacred shrine, why he bore that bird, she said, "Listen, Macareus, and learn from this too what the power of my mistress is: and give your mind to my words!